My rooster is sick please help !

[Savannah Jade]

My rooster is less than a year old ( we got him at the start of COVID ) and he was fine up until the last month or so. He suddenly became very lethargic, stands with his eyes closed , barely eats or drinks , very slow. His comb has gotten very pale. And he started breathing really hard. We weren’t sure he he had worms so we started treating him with dewormer but his conditions haven’t changed and none of my other chickens seem to be having issues ? Does anyone know what may be wrong or how I can help him ???

 

[Dottie the Chicken]

Oh, no! That doesn't sound good!

@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock @azygous @aart

 

[Eggcessive]

Has he had any sneezing or coughing, and have you seen any bubbles in his eye or swelling of his face? How is the color of his comb? Do you have any pictures?

 

[Savannah Jade]

Has he had any sneezing or coughing, and have you seen any bubbles in his eye or swelling of his face? How is the color of his comb? Do you have any pictures?

I haven’t noticed sneezing, cough , swelling , or bubbles. But his comb has gotten very pale and flopped over, his tail and wings are droopy, and he hasn’t pooped much but when he does it’s small and Mucousy. I don’t have pictures at this moment but as soon as I get home I will take some and post it. I have noticed lot of heavy breathing and he doesn’t crow anymore but I’m the rare occasion that he does it’s very weak. We thought he may have gapeworm because of this so we treated him with safe guard dewormer, for the past week we’ve added some to his food and water but I haven’t seen improvement.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you ever had a bird with a respiratory infection before? Those can make carriers of the survivors. Was he vaccinated for Mareks disease? How is your coop ventilation? I would try to get him drinking water, and if you can get some Poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell, you can give him 2-3 ml daily, which might perk him up. Water can also be added to his feed to make a mash to get more fluids into him.

 

[aart]

When I have a bird that' is acting 'off' I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so I can closely monitor their intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and their poops. Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling. Check for external parasites or any other abnormalities.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.